Pizza-Flavored Quinoa Fried “Rice” is crowd-pleasing real-food meal that combines a couple of classic take-out favorites and can be whipped up in less than 10 minutes with a little prep ahead!
Ingredients
Quinoa:
1 cup (130 g) quinoa
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Slightly scant 2 cups (475 ml) water or low-sodium chicken stock, boiling
Other:
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
50 g/1¾ oz turkey pepperoni slices, halved
1 medium green bell pepper, de-seeded and diced
1 medium red bell pepper, de-seeded and diced
½ red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons black olives, pitted and chopped (for garnish)
1 tablespoon minced red onion (for garnish)
Instructions
Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh sieve under cool running water. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the quinoa and cook until it smells nutty, about 2 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the tomato paste, oregano, salt, pepper, and water (or stock). Bring to a rolling boil, and then cover the saucepan, turn the heat down to very low, and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes (don’t open the lid while it cooks). Turn off the heat and let the quinoa sit for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Heat ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the pepperoni and cook until crispy, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pepperoni to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.
To the same skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Heat the skillet over high heat; once hot, add the bell peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook until the vegetables are starting to soften, about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the quinoa and cook a minute or so to reheat, stirring constantly. Stir in the crispy pepperoni.
Sprinkle the black olives and minced red onion on top and serve.
Notes
Make-Ahead: The quinoa can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge until you want to make the rest of the dish. Also, you can prep the vegetables in advance and store them covered in the fridge as well. That way, on the day you want to eat this, it will only take about 8 minutes to cook.
Recipe by An Edible Mosaic™ at https://www.anediblemosaic.com/pizza-flavored-quinoa-fried-rice/